Admissions Counseling

Giving up an animal is a difficult decision and HSSV has many programs to help keep your pet in your home. If you are considering surrender, we ask that you exhaust all options before starting the admissions process.

We always have appointments available for pet retention options to help you keep your animal or to discuss private rehoming resources and tips for you to find your animal their next home. It's often best for your pet to avoid a shelter stay by either staying with you or going directly from your home to the next.

As our space allows, Humane Society Silicon Valley offers admission counseling appointments for owned dogs, cats, rabbits, and pocket pets (guinea pigs, rats, mice, and hamsters). This "Reservation Required" system is designed so that during your appointment, we have a dedicated opportunity to learn all about your animal's likes, dislikes, and medical history so that we can find the best home for your pet.

Scheduling an Admissions Counseling Appointment

To be scheduled for admissions counseling, you must first complete and return a pet owner questionnaire for each animal you need to surrender. Please ensure you legibly complete this questionnaire and include your best contact information so our staff may call you to schedule an appointment. Our staff will contact you to review your questionnaire and discuss options within 24-hours of receipt. If your animal is not a candidate for admission, we can let you know other resources available to you.

Because we take in surrendered animals as space becomes available at the shelter, we may need to schedule appointments several days or weeks in advance, so please plan ahead!

Please know that appointments are not a drop off time; most appointments last approximately 30-45 minutes as we talk about your pet's needs and history. Often dog surrenders are a two-appointment process with a first appointment as an evaluation where we meet your dog and a later set second appointment for admission. Our goal at Humane Society Silicon Valley is to make the transition from home to shelter as stress-free as possible. Depending on your animals’ particular needs, we may request that you return for additional sessions before surrendering your pet so that they are as comfortable as possible with their new surroundings.

Download your Pet Owner Questionnaire here:

Dog Owner Questionnaire
Cat Owner Questionnaire
Rabbit Owner Questionnaire
Pocket Pet Questionnaire
For our Preventing Unwanted Pregnancies program, click here

Please return your completed pet owner questionnaire via e.mail to customer_care@hssv.org, via fax to 408-262-2131, or you may drop it off in person at our Animal Community Center Receiving Lobby located at 901 Ames Avenue in Milpitas. Along with your pet owner questionnaire, it is also helpful if you submit a photograph of your pet (e.mail to: customer_care@hssv.org).

Surrender Requirements and Fees

In order to have the greatest impact on our local community, HSSV does not accept surrendered animals from outside Santa Clara county. Please check our listings of other local organizations.

For the health and well-being of your pet, we do require that all dogs and cats are current on their vaccinations upon surrender. Dogs should be current on their DA2PP "combo," Bordatella, and Rabies vaccinations. Cats should be current on their FVRCP "combo" and their Rabies vaccinations. Note, the rabies vaccination is only required for animals that are more than 4 months old. Please plan to bring your pet's vaccination and veterinary records to your surrender appointment to show proof of vaccination. If your pet is not current on his/her vaccinations, affordable services are available Monday-Saturday in our Medical Center.

The fee to surrender a single dog or cat is $160.
The fee to surrender up to 3 dogs or cats is $235.
The fee to surrender a single rabbit is $70.
The fee to surrender up to 3 rabbits is $105.
The fee to surrender a single guinea pig is $40.
The fee to surrender up to 3 guinea pigs is $55.
The fee to surrender a single pocket pet is $15.
The fee to surrender up to 5 pocket pets is $20.

Your surrender fees provide your pet with:

24-hour shelter care
Two meals per day
Fresh bedding and toys
Medical care
Flea Treatment
De-worming
Behavior Assessment
Plenty of TLC, Socialization and Love

Fees are expected to be paid in full upon admission of our animal.
Please note, additional surrender fees may be assessed depending on your individual animal's circumstances. For an estimate of surrender fees, please contact our Customer Service staff at 408-262-2133 ext. 110 or e.mail customer_care@hssv.org.

Your Admission Counseling Appointment

To help your pet make a good first impression and attract the attention of a potential adopter, we recommend you have your animal bathed and/or groomed before your appointment.
Know that the most desirable dogs for adoption are:

Bathed, free of parasites, and have trimmed nails
Spayed or neutered
Current on all vaccinations, with veterinary records
Socialized with humans and other animals; friendly and easily handled

Know that the most desirable cats for adoption are:

Well brushed (especially long-haired cats), free of parasites, and have trimmed nails
Spayed or neutered
Current on all vaccinations, with veterinary records
Outgoing, social and easily handled
At least 8 weeks old

Know that the most desirable rabbits for adoption are:

Well brushed (especially long-haired rabbits), free of parasites, and have trimmed nails
Spayed or neutered
Social and easily handled

Know that the most desirable pocket pets for adoption are:

Friendly and easily handled

"Moving day" can be stressful for both humans and animals! To help comfort your pet while s/he is adjusting to our shelter environment, you are encouraged to bring your pet’s favorite bed, blanket and/or toy. Donations of kennels, carriers, and other pet supplies are also greatly appreciated and are tax deductible.

Re-homing Evaluation

All surrendered animals are evaluated by our medical and behavioral experts for our adoption program. If they do not meet our requirements, then every attempt is made to find the animal a home either through one of HSSV's rescue group or shelter partners.
After evaluation, if your animal is not a candidate for our adoption programs and cannot be placed with another organization due to either medical or behavioral issues, you may chose to receive a customer call back and have the option to take your animal back within 24 hours of our contact.

HSSV does not place any time limits on an animal's stay with our organization once it is made available for adoption! Provided the animal stays mentally and physically sound, a dog, cat or rabbit will be available for adoption until a new home is found, even if that takes days, weeks, or months!

Surrendering Other Types of Animals

Although HSSV only accepts the surrender of dogs, cats, rabbits, and pocket pets for adoption at our Animal Community Center, we can help direct you to an organization that will accept the surrender of pocket pets, birds, reptiles and amphibians, and other farm-type animals. For more information on surrendering these types of animals, please call 408-262-2133 ext. 110 or e.mail customer_care@hssv.org.